ISKCON Mayapur - Temple, Food, Place To Stay

Mayapur ISKCON is one of the largest temples in the world located in Mayapur in the state of West Bengal, India. It is one of the popular spiritual places in West Bengal and is located between Hooghly and Jalangi Rivers.

It is the Dham or abode of a spiritual person named ” Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.”

Mayapur ISKCON is located approximately 130 km from Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, and is well-connected by roads.

In this article, you will get to know the following points about Mayapur ISKCON,

History
Best time to visit
How to reach
Places to visit
Where to stay
What to eat

You will also get to know about my trip to this spiritual place. So let’s explore a bit more detail about each of these points.

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History of Mayapur Iskcon Temple

Mayapur is located in the Nadia district. This place is popular as the birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Navadwip was the capital of Bengal during the reign of the Sena kings in Bengal (1159-1206).

Gaur was the capital of Lakshman Sen. He moved his capital from Gaur to Nabadwip.

During the reign of Lakshan Sen, Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered Navadvipa and from then on the first Muslim rule started in Bengal.

Nabadwip was a center of education at that time. This is where Sri Chaitanya Deva was born.

In 1918, with the establishment of Chaitanya Math by Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur, a new wave of devotion flooded Mayapur.

In 1962, Srila Abhayacharanarbinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada followed in the footsteps of his guru and established the ISKCON temple.

Best time to visit ISKCON, Mayapur

Dolayatra, Janmashtami, Rasayatra, and Rathyatra are some of the festivals during which you should visit Mayapur.

During these festivals, the temple greets many devotees from all over the world and the place is wonderfully decorated with lights and flowers.

How to reach ISKCON, Mayapur

From Howrah or Sealdah, you can take the Katwa local to Bishnupriya Halt.

From there you can get Toto to go to Ganges Ghat, the fare will be 10 rupees. After that, you can reach Mayapur Ghat with a fare of 3 rupees.

You can also, take Krishnanagar local from Sealdah and then reach Swarupganj ghat by auto or magic car.

Mayapur is just on the opposite side of the river from this ghat.

You can also come by bus. You can get a direct bus from Dharmatala to Mayapur.

The bus schedule is given below:

Kolkata – Mayapur (8:15 am)
Kolkata – Mayapur (3.30 pm)
Mayapur – Kolkata (8:15 am)
Mayapur-Kolkata (3:30 pm)

*Please note that these timings are subject to change.

Places to visit at ISKCON Mayapur

Some places you can visit in and around ISKCON Mayapur are,

1. Mayapur Iskcon Chandrodaya Temple

ISKCON Chandrodaya Temple is the main attraction in Mayapur. The temple depicts the life story of Lord Krishna.

Saint Binod Tagore built the ‘Chandrodaya Mandir’ in Mayapur as the birthplace of Sri Chaitanyadev.

After entering the temple premises you will see Bhajan Kuthi.

Here you will hear the charming “Nam Sankirtana” of local or foreign devotees (chants of Lord Krishna).

The construction of the temple is incomplete. It will be completed in 2022.

It will be the tallest Hindu temple in the world ever built.

There are temples of Iskcon all over the world.

The main attraction of the temple is the idol of the magnificent and charming Radhakrishna. The idol is set on a platform decorated with flowers.

Watching the divine Mangal Aarti in the morning and evening Aarti is a majestic view in the temple.

2. Samadhi Mandir

There is also another temple called Samadhi Mandir.

The Samadhi Mandir is open to the public from 8:30 am to 1 pm and from 3:30 pm to 8:30 pm.

On the second floor of this temple, you will see the last house and things of Sri Prabhupada.

3. Chaitanya Leela Exhibition

You can also see the Chaitanya Leela exhibition. It is open to all the devotees from 10 a.m. to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 6 pm.

4. Goushala

There are about 200 cows in this cowshed of Iskcon. The cow’s milk, ghee, and even cow’s urine are sold here.

5. Mayapur Digital Planetarium

Mayapur Digital Planetarium is open from 10.00 am to 8.30 pm.

6. Mayapur Sri Chaitanya Math

This is another place near ISKCON Mayapur that you can visit. Here you can see the house of Chaitanyadev’s aunt and uncle.

7. Srivas Angan

It is said that Jaigai and Madhai (two brothers) broke the Khol (a musical instrument) of Sri Chaitanya Dev. The broken piece of the instrument (Khol), is still preserved in this holy temple.

There are also many other places like Shiva Doba, Gada Bhavan, Gita Bhavan, Ishwardhyana Bhavan, Banshi Bhavan, Kanch Bhavan, Nityananda Kutir, Shruti Bhavan, Shankha Bhavan that you can visit in Mayapur.

Places to stay at ISKCON

Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

There are hundreds of hotels and lodges between the Ganga Ghat and Mayapur Chandrodaya Mandir.

You will get everything from low budget to luxury hotels.

You will get a room on the premises of ISKCON temple with a price ranging between 100.00 to 5000 rupees.

What to eat at ISKCON, Mayapur

Food is available at Geeta Bhavan, Gada Bhavan, and Namath Bhavan.

There is food as well as accommodation available here. Lunch and dinner are provided.

Lunch costs 50 to 60 rupees and dinner 40 to 50 rupees. Coupons are available at half price for children.

You can buy coupons before noon for lunch, and before dinner.

The ISKCON temple also has several eateries and drinking water facilities.

Mahaprabhu Restaurant is located on the temple premises. Here you can get tea, pasta, pizza, cakes, burgers, dosa, idli, ice cream, fruit juices, lunch, Mahaprasad, and many other items.

So you can say that food or accommodation will not be a problem if you visit Mayapur.

So you can easily go on a two-day vacation to visit Mayapur.

There is overflowing devotion in the temple as well as in the surrounding Mayapur. The essence of spirituality prevails in each and every corner of Mayapur.

People visit the place to pacify the soul and attain sanity.

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